Balasubrahmanyam, 74, died on Friday at Chennai’s MGM Healthcare hospital, after being admitted there on August 5 for severe pneumonia brought on by the novel coronavirus. The singer tested negative almost a month later on September 4, the hospital said
The 11-year-old rapper shot to fame earlier this month when one of his cover songs on his Instagram page went viral and, at the time of writing, has earned him more than 92,000 followers.
The video, which features a song by Palestinian rapper Waheeb Nasan, shows Abdulrahman standing in front of his classmates, effortlessly rapping in American-accented English without missing a beat.
“First of all, this is our country, let me tell you how it goes,” he raps. “We want peace and we want love/people pray and teach who don’t.”
The song, which itself is a cover version of Wiz Khalifa’s See You Again, netted him praise from famous music artists around the world, from US artist DJ Khaled to Canadian signer Masari to the UK’s Akala and Lowkey.
Abdulrahman, who goes by the stage name MCA, first took a liking to hip-hop music when he was nine years old.
“I started rapping for fun at first,” he explained. “I memorised Eminem’s song I’m Not Afraid and that’s when I found out I’m good at rapping. Ever since then I started to write my own original songs and memorised covers for famous rappers.”
When asked about his favourite artists, he gushed with enthusiasm.
“Oh man, I have so many!” he said. “Eminem, Tupac, Mike Shinoda. I was searching for rap songs on YouTube and came across Changes by Tupac and I really liked it. So I checked out more songs from him and listened to Dear Mama, The Rose and really liked his style.”
“He learned everything from the internet on the phone,” he said. “He was born and raised in Gaza, and has never attended a language institute. He keeps a schedule where he practices new songs, day and night.
“All of this talent is from his determination and hard work and practice,” he added.
Hip-hop as a ‘voice of the people’
Saudi hip-hop guru and radio host Ahmad Dennaoui – better known as Big Hass – came across Abdulrahman’s Instagram page and shared it on his social media channels.
“I actually did a live Instagram interview with Abdul before he went viral,” he told Al Jazeera.
“It’s really amazing to see the love MCA has received so far and it’s crazy to believe that just 10 days ago he had 800 followers and now he’s crossed the 90K number.”
Saleh, who takes videos of his son rapping with his mobile phone, said he is proud of Abdulrahman, whose original lyrics talk about experiencing three Israeli offensives during his 11 years on Earth.
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